Motherwell V Kilmarnock at Fir Park Stadium : Match Preview

30 August 2013 04:31

New Motherwell winger Lionel Ainsworth claims he agreed his move to Scotland because it offered him the chance to star on television.

The Rotherham wideman has signed a six-month loan deal with Stuart McCall's team and will be in the manager's squad for Saturday's home clash with Kilmarnock.

The 25-year-old found himself out of contention at the Millers but admits few of his friends were keen to point him in the direction of the Scottish Premiership when Well came calling.

However, former England Under-19 cap Ainsworth says the chance to show off his talents on TV was too good to turn down.

He said: "I didn't realise how big a deal the Scottish Premiership is until I got here.

McCall, meanwhile, has given the rest of his group a clean bill of health.

Kilmarnock winger Rabiu Ibrahim says Allan Johnston is the perfect boss to reignite his career and even claims he has started stealing the former Scotland winger's training-ground tricks.

Former Sporting Lisbon, PSV Eindhoven and Celtic wideman Ibrahim moved to Rugby Park last January after his career stalled at Parkhead.

The Nigerian youth cap started just two games under former Killie boss Kenny Shiels but has begun the last four games for the Ayrshire side following Johnston's summer arrival.

The new manager has already spoken highly of Ibrahim and claimed he sees signs of himself in the talented playmaker.

But now the 22-year-old has revealed he been studying his boss' style online and on the training pitch in an effort to perfect his twists and turns.

He said: "I feel very happy and excited about what the manager said when he spoke about me like that. For me, it makes me feel more confident and I'm sure he can bring out the best in me.

"It makes me feel like I want to do more. I want to work hard for the team.

"I didn't know much about the boss before but since he has come in, I have watched a few clips of him on video and I loved him as a player.

"Sometimes he joins in training with us and you can see, wow, he can still play. He's quite young and can move. He has great skills.

"For me he is a magician. Someone just told me that his nickname was Magic. I said: 'Wow, really? I was right'."

"Every time I watch him, I steal something from him. It helps make me different. I'm happy to have him as a manager."

Johnston will be able to welcome back Kris Boyd to his squad for the trip to Motherwell after the former Scotland striker saw out his two-game ban.

Boyd was shown a straight red card against St Mirren after aiming a punch at Buddies skipper Jim Goodwin and missed the defeats to Hibernian and Hamilton.

But he is back for the Scottish Premiership match at Fir Park. Johnston, meanwhile, has chosen to play his cards close to his chest as he refuses to name the two players he has injury concerns over ahead of the match.